


Steal Away the Night

by Karasuno Volleygays (ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Assassin AU, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:17:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor/pseuds/Karasuno%20Volleygays
Summary: Assassin Kageyama Tobio never wanted a partner, but when he's paired with someone as different from him as could be, he finds himself enthralled by the ways their differences melt away when they're together. However, things don't always go according to plan, and soon Kageyama finds himself alone.





	Steal Away the Night

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [hqrarepairzine](hqrarepairzine.tumblr.com) on Tumblr.

Kageyama’s heart pounds in his chest as he leans against the wall of the bathroom in his safe house. He’s just sprinted up twelve flights of stairs in the nondescript apartment building where he lays low between freelance jobs, and his breath burns in his lungs from the effort.

But someone is following him; he can feel it.

His fingers curl around the hilt of his knife, the first weapon he could get his hands on because he had left the house for a nearby restaurant unarmed like an _idiot_. Kageyama peers slowly through the partially open door. His gaze flits up and down the short hallway of his apartment, but nobody is there.

In his line of work, however, he has learned to not rely only on his sight. His skin itches in alarm, and he knows that no matter what he sees, someone is there. He’s certain that someone is there to kill him. He’s waited for this day.

Kageyama’s gaze is drawn to the door of the linen closet, which is slightly ajar. He hasn’t opened that closet for nearly a week since the last time he did laundry. He never leaves it open.

Noiselessly, Kageyama creeps out of the bathroom, knife poised to attack in an instant, and he whips open the door to the linen closet to confront his would-be killer. Before his arm can swing in one lethal motion, he hears the click of a hammer being pulled back and then sees the barrel of a nine millimeter handgun with a built-in silencer aimed straight at his heart.

It is the weapon of an assassin. Namely, the same one he had gifted to his former partner over a year ago.

Though the silhouette is obscured by the darkness in the hallway, Kageyama doesn’t need to see him to know who is there to kill him. “Yuutarou.”

From the shadows, Kindaichi Yuutarou huffs. “Isn’t there some old saying about bringing a knife to a gunfight?”

“I’ve never needed a gun before. I won’t start now.” Kageyama doesn’t lower his weapon, and neither does Kindaichi. Not that he expects anything less when he can clearly recall his role in shattering their partnership.

Thinking back on that situation, Kageyama isn’t sure why he’s not already dead. He gets his answer when Kindaichi murmurs, “We need to talk.”

 

* * *

 

Kageyama stares across a table in a hole-in-the-wall ramen shop and at the man sitting on the other side of it, his nose wrinkling in irritation. “I don’t need a partner. I’m fine on my own.”

Kindaichi crosses his arms and leans back against the padded booth. “Yeah, well, we’re stuck with each other, so suck it up for a while and we’ll be done soon enough.”

“I don’t need a partner,” Kageyama repeats, turning his attention to his meal to take his mind off the situation.

It’s the biggest job of his career; he’s never been hired to kill a government official before. He’s been a professional hitman for over five years — a lengthy career for someone in his sector — and the payout from this job can help set him up for life, give him a chance to settle down and open a gym. He will finally have the opportunity to funnel the aggression and adrenaline constantly brewing inside him into something different.

But Kindaichi’s presence complicates things. Kageyama alone is swift and deadly; Kindaichi is slow, methodical, and far too reliant on gadgets for Kageyama’s comfort. His work is a complex and surgical operation, but more moving parts means a higher chance of failure.

 _Just this one job_ , he reminds himself. Aloud, he adds, “I get the kill.”

“Fine.” Kindaichi sets into his noodles and doesn’t look at Kageyama for the rest of the evening.

 

* * *

 

“You know why I’m here.” Kindaichi exhales heavily and finally lowers his weapon. “I actually thought I could do it, too. Or maybe I just thought I wanted to.”

“I know.” Kageyama’s blade clatters to the floor, and he drapes himself against the hallway wall. “I’m sorry, Yuutarou. I can’t change what happened, but it isn’t what I wanted.”

Kindaichi steps from the linen closet and kicks the door closed behind him. “I can’t believe you and your stupid, selfish bullshit! That was my score, too. How could you leave me behind?”

Kageyama lowers his head, still unsure whether Kindaichi will carry out his mission, but it doesn’t matter. Part of Kageyama did die that day, and the thrill he had always found in his work withered to distaste. The hurt he knows Kindaichi felt when Kageyama walked away from him, away from _them_ — Kageyama can’t escape it. He wakes up alone every morning to that thought inside a lonely apartment.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs once again, his breath shuddering and uneven. “Do what you have to do. I won’t stop you.”

“No.”

 

* * *

 

Fingers curl tightly in Kageyama’s hair as his lips blaze a hot, wet trail of kisses down the curve of Kindaichi’s neck.

“Mmm, that is nice,” Kindaichi hisses, his grip on Kageyama’s hair tugging even tighter on the roots, drawing a raw groan from Kageyama. He feels Kindaichi’s purr of agreement through the silken skin of his throat, and Kageyama closes his eyes and gives himself over to the sensation.

This thing that burns between them, Kageyama can’t think of anything like it he’s ever felt in his life. Nothing comes close to the high he gets when it’s just the two of them and their jobs no longer matter.

He had thought his employer inflicting a partner on him would ruin his ability to execute his assignments, and at first, it did. Kageyama and Kindaichi had meshed about as well as fire and ice. Kindaichi is a man of process and practice, while Kageyama operates on instinct and acute command over his every movement.

But slowly and surely, they’ve found their places at each other’s sides. It’s a foreign concept to Kageyama, but also a welcome one. That thought makes his fingers sink into Kindaichi’s hips just a little bit tighter as they reel together to the bed that has rapidly become ‘theirs’.

 

* * *

 

He watches as Kindaichi rushes about the apartment, jamming bare necessities into a duffel bag. Neither of them speak until the bag is draped over Kageyama’s shoulder, along with a curt, “Let’s go.”

Kageyama makes no move to comply. “Why are you doing this?”

Kindaichi halts mid-step, his spine snapped ramrod straight. “If you can’t figure it out, I don’t know what to tell you.” He doesn’t turn around, but Kageyama doesn’t need to see the disappointment on Kindaichi’s face; he can hear it.

“You know if you don’t do it, he’ll just send someone for both of us.” The warning rings dull even to his own ears. Everything in Kageyama screams to follow Kindaichi anywhere he wants to go. His resolve wanes, and he pads over and rests his forehead between tense shoulder blades, letting out a shuddering breath. “I missed you.”

 

* * *

 

No matter how many times he goes over their mission strategy, Kageyama’s instincts scream inside of him: their plan will never work.

He can’t fault Kindaichi’s planning. There are few things Kageyama would do differently, and those only based on personal choice rather than merit. As much as Kageyama has come to appreciate Kindaichi’s presence in his off-hours, he has also proven himself an able partner. He understands why their employer paired them together.

But numbers don’t lie, and Kageyama can see the equations of failure laced throughout the game plan. For days, he watched shift rotation and patrol routes while Kindaichi monitored alarm systems and communications. It all seems so simple: Kindaichi monitors cameras while remotely disabling alarm triggers, and Kageyama goes in for a swift and brutal strike. From beginning to end, months of planning will culminate in ten short minutes.

The fly in the ointment is the random drive-by surveillance around the property. Kageyama has no doubt that he can circumvent that particular issue with ease, but it leaves Kindaichi alone and exposed in the nondescript sedan parked down the street. One second look and Kindaichi could be made.

“I’ll be fine,” Kindaichi says when Kageyama blurts his concerns while they spar at the gym. Their speeds and strengths are mismatched, but Kageyama doesn’t let up for a moment.

Landing a solid hit to Kindaichi’s chest with his boxing glove, Kageyama growls, “You need to listen to me!” His fists fly of their own accord as he vents his fear and frustration into his punches. “It’s too dangerous. Either I go in alone, or we don’t go at all.”

“Since when did _you_ become king of the whole damn world?” Kindaichi roars as he lands a heavy hit of his own, sending Kageyama sprawling to the mat. “I don’t answer to you, Kageyama- _sama_. I’m good at what I do, and I’m telling you, you’re worrying about nothing. I can handle it.”

Kageyama launches himself back to his feet and into a furious assault, his savage need for success overruling his better judgment. Kindaichi fights back in kind, and in a matter of seconds, they’re both bruised, bleeding, and winded on the gym floor. His nose crooked and dripping blood, Kindaichi crawls over to where Kageyama is lying motionless and staring at the ceiling.

“I know you’re not used to working with other people, Tobio.” Kindaichi runs a finger down the line of Kageyama’s jaw, drawing a shiver in its wake. “But I need you to have faith in me. Don’t talk at me; work _with_ me. Okay?”

Shaky legs find their footing once again, and they don’t look away from each other for a second. Kindaichi is the first to break the stalemate. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll bring a piece with me.”

“Fine.” Kageyama nods, but he has already decided what he’s going to do.

They go together to find a serviceable weapon for Kindaichi, with Kageyama making the ultimate decision and Kindaichi yielding to his superior knowledge. Kindaichi doesn’t need to know he’ll never get a chance to use it.

The night of the operation comes all too soon, and every second he spends with Kindaichi reinforces Kageyama’s decision. Kindaichi cooks a late dinner, but while he puts on the finishing touches, Kageyama pours a colorless, tasteless liquid into Kindaichi’s tea.

Kindaichi never finishes his meal before he slouches back in his chair, fast asleep.

A few hours later, with Kindaichi safely ensconced in their bed, Kageyama steals out of the apartment to their mark’s estate. Even without Kindaichi’s assistance circumventing the alarms, Kageyama manages to make it deep into the guts of the house where its owner is in for the night.

In moments, the Minister of Something-or-Another lies naked in his room, his neck snapped noiselessly before the man’s mistress returns from her post-coital shower.

Extreme luck and help from some lazy guards allows Kageyama to make it off the grounds until he can blend in with the ragtag late night train crowd. He boards the train and eases the hood of his sweatshirt over his eyes to mimic sleep, and it rolls on. His usual stop is fifteen minutes away, but he doesn’t disembark.

Instead, he stays on the train until the end of the line and then boards another line and rides to the end of that one, too. Kindaichi is probably awake by now, angry and alone, and Kageyama’s stomach curdles at the thought. Yet he can’t turn back and make this right; he had known when he left that he would not be returning.

So he rides alone and beyond until dawn.

 

* * *

 

A hand reaches back and snares Kageyama’s hand, squeezing it tight. “I never thought I could forgive you for what you did, but when I saw you staring down the barrel of my gun —” Kindaichi turns and runs his thumb down Kageyama’s jaw, resting the rough, callused pad on his lower lip. “— you weren’t mad or afraid. You just seemed like you didn’t care if I pulled the trigger.”

“I don’t.” Kageyama averts his eyes. “I did the worst thing to you I could’ve done, and I would do it again.”

Kindaichi freezes, and his grip on Kageyama’s hand tightens. “I figured.”

Kageyama drops the bag and meets Kindaichi’s gaze with more confidence than he feels. “It was too dangerous. You would’ve been killed.” He jerks his hand from Kindaichi’s grasp and crosses his arms, a shiver lancing through him. “I couldn’t watch it happen.”

There is a soft rustle of fabric, and Kageyama glances up to see Kindaichi looming close, his face stern with resolve. “Well, shit happens and it’s done, so let’s just go, Tobio.”

The sound of his given name on Kindaichi’s lips snatches Kageyama’s attention. He doesn’t have time to do anything but swallow his yelp of surprise as Kindaichi leans into him for a warm, lazy kiss. When their mouths part, their foreheads rest together and their breaths mingle.

“As long as it’s with you.” Kageyama reaches over to snare Kindaichi’s hands in his, and for the first time in months, a few of the stray shards of his soul knit back together. It’s something he knows he doesn’t deserve, but his greedy broken heart doesn’t care anymore.

They board the next available train together. It presses on in a different direction this time — he never does catch the destination — but that doesn’t matter to Kageyama as long as they’re going there together and for good.

**Author's Note:**

> My heart. My bois. :')


End file.
